Tina Fey has acknowledged that she was “on the wrong side” of some jokes during her time on Saturday Night Live, but maintained that other sketches, including her impersonation of Sarah Palin, were a “fair hit”. The comedian was speaking at the History Talks event in Philadelphia, where she reflected on her nine-year tenure on the iconic sketch show.
Fey, who joined SNL in 1997, recalled being in the NBC building during the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent anthrax scare. She noted that the show’s relationship with current events became “a thinner and thinner veil”, particularly during the George W Bush era when Will Ferrell impersonated the president.
Addressing her six-week stint parodying Sarah Palin during the 2008 election, Fey insisted the sketches were rooted in truth. “We always worked really hard to make sure that they were what we would call ‘a fair hit’,” she said, adding that the jokes only worked if they were based on something real. The impersonation earned Fey an Emmy and led to Palin appearing on the show alongside her.
Despite the show’s political influence, Fey rejected the idea that SNL aimed to shape outcomes. “If it’s not true, it will not be funny,” she explained. Fey, who became SNL’s first female head writer in 1999, recently premiered the UK version of the show, which featured cameos from Michael Cera, Graham Norton, and Nicola Coughlan.
